When reading this book I kept mentally making comparisons between it and Mike Carey's Felix Castor series and Simon R. Green's Nightside series, both of which I have been enjoying immensely. In the comparison, this, the first book in Butcher's Dresden Files series, almost always came up short. That being said, I did enjoy the book enough to want to continue with the series, hoping the shortfalls will clear as the series progresses.